A Strange Sense of Peace
by Princess Iria
Summary: Jewel finds herself thinking about her return to her homeland, the separation of the group, and the hero.


**Note:** This has lots of **spoilers**! The hero's name is **Abel**.

A Strange Sense of Peace

It feels strange to be home again.

It was the logical place to go, though. The war changed everything; the Commander died, Abel got his rune, Snowe betrayed us, we became exiles… Nothing could ever be the same. Abel and Snowe changed so much…especially Snowe. But I'll talk about that later.

With the war over, Paula went with Selma to the Elven village, Snowe dropped out of military service, Tal became a fisherman… Only Kenneth and I were left in the knights. After the explosions of Fort El-Eal, Abel used his Rune for the last time. He never woke up… A solemn ceremony was held for him, for the hero who never enjoyed the fruits of his labor. Then he was sent to sea on his own boat. We didn't cry, the four of us, because we already knew this could happen. Ever since he got the rune he was forever cursed…

It feels strange to live in peace.

All those days spent training, striving to be our best, to graduate and serve our country…those were only a month ago. Who knew what trials were woven for us by the stars? Maybe if I had known…I would have taken Abel's place. We all would have. The boy who was always working when we had free time shouldn't have had to carry the burden. But it seems like the stars chose him. He was the only one who survived after using the Rune. He never gave it to anyone else.

The Rune of Punishment… They call it the Rune that governs atonement and forgiveness… Abel never wanted to punish anyone. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He could not curse you if he tried. He let Snowe live, his friend who had betrayed him. He fought for the right to live in freedom. I could never forget him.

It feels strange to be alone.

The Kooluk Army will never come again. Their only attack point has been decimated, along with their rune cannon. The deranged Graham Cray is among the remains of the castle. The Knights don't need me anymore. Kenneth, Tal, Paula, Snowe…they all have their own lives. Paula will probably not visit me, even though she is less than a mile away. The elves have their own culture which I could never understand. And Snowe…Snowe has given up on being great. He has become calmer, more at ease around others. His father had always pushed him so hard that he felt that he had to be the best. The noble air around him has disappeared and I don't think he'll ever be that arrogant again. Tal was always a strange one, always raving about fishing and stuff. It was always something he planned to do after serving the knights. I don't know how fishing can be interesting, but you never know… Kenneth became the Vice-Commander of the Knights of Razril, under Katarina. He's good at that kind of stuff, being a leader, being a negociator, etc. I couldn't live like that.

Now it's the time for me to grow up, to be my own. I still feel like a child sometimes. So idealistic, so carefree. Joining Abel in exile somewhat to save him and somewhat on a whim, I almost could have died. Joining the war effort and doing my best to protect Abel was somewhat idealistic as well. Now I think I have grown up. I rather lead a quiet life, not one of ancient tales.

It feels strange to be lazy.

It's weird sometimes, not waking up early to stretch out my muscles for training, not wolfing down food like a madman in order to make it in time for the first training exercise. I wake up now, well past sunrise, and roll out of bed. I make my own breakfast, though not as good as Funghi's, and then take a walk outside. I take my time and I can breathe the air, feel the sense of tranquility, smell nature. It's so different, my life now.

I guess I like it. I figure that soon enough I'll be married and stay at home, cooking or growing flowers. I'll have a handsome husband, of course. They say Jeremy still hangs around here in his free time…I always thought he was cute…hehe…

Well, I guess it feels strange to be free.

I'm free to do whatever I want, whenever I want. With so many choices, I don't even know what to do first!


End file.
